Traitor
by Lost in the Shadow
Summary: Beautiful white wings for you... Novelization, but with my view on things put in.
1. Awakening in Cebalrai

-1_Come… free us… From a thousand years of darkness… _

_A millennium of solitude and suffering... _

_Beautiful white wings for you… _

_For the world… _

_Death and destruction… _

_Aha ha ha ha… ha ha ha…_

"Hmmm…Argh…" I felt as though a fog was lifting in my mind, and the pain quickly rush in to fill it's place.

'Where am I?' I thought, pulling myself to a sitting position. "Ugh…My head!" It was all I could do to hold back tears at the stabbing pain. 'What the hell kind of magic was that?' I thought. 'She never told me it would hurt this much!'

"Ah… I see you have awakened. How do you feel?" A strange man walked over to me. I could tell he was about the same age as my grandfather was, although he looked a bit younger.

'I feel like my head got ran over, how do you think I feel?!' I wanted to say, but he reminded me too much of my grandfather, so I chose different words. "Who are you? Why am I here?"

The old man smiled. "My name is Larikush. I'm the village doctor here at Cebalrai. They found you lying unconscious in the woods nearby, and brought you here."

The fog finally disappeared fully, and the rest of my memories came back. Melodia, AEthera, and his disagreement with our plan. I also remembered our story for what had happened to me. "Oh yeah, I remember now… I was attacked by Rock Cats… Oh man… How stupid of me."

Larikush gave a surprised expression, and then regained his composure. "You're lucky they were only Rock Cats. They are herbivores, after all… It's awfully strange to hear of them attacking humans…" The old man then turned away, apparently in thought.

'Uh oh… does he not believe me? Damn it, I knew it wasn't a believable story…' I thought, silently cursing Melodia for her idea. I hadn't learned much about Rock Cats in my short time here, but to me, it didn't seem likely that they would attack a human.

"The animals in the forest have been acting quite peculiar lately. I'm not sure why, but they're much more aggressive than they used to be. You'd better stay away from those woods."

'Hmmm… so it was pretty believable after all. I wonder how much work Melodia put into research on the background for such a simple story. She doesn't strike me as the type to le even the smallest detail slip by.' I thought, and began to think of what other parts of the plan I had doubted her on. Were those right too? I hoped so. I really wanted them to be, but I'd just have to see once it got to those stages.

He turned back to me, and stared into my eyes. "By the way, what do you call yourself? I don't recall seeing you around these parts." He gave me a look that told me he thought he knew me, but needed a name to place it. I could tell that I couldn't lie about it.

"My name's Kalas. It's my first time here, which is why I got lost, I guess." I hoped he hadn't seen me anywhere with Melodia; otherwise everything could be jeopardized at the very beginning.

"Kalas, is it?" His eyes glinted in surprised recognition. "Welcome to Cebalrai Village, boy. It looks like you took quite a blow to the head, so I was worried you might have amnesia… but you seem to be fine. If you feel up to it, feel free to take a look around the village. We're only a small farming community on the frontier, so I'm afraid there isn't that much to see..."

'"It looks like you took quite a blow to the head"?! Did I fall on a rock, or something? Or did Melodia hit me while I was out? Seems like something that witch would do… Hmph. I know that it was for the good of the story, but I wish she would have at least told me she'd do that.

Larikush turned to a table at the edge of the room, and I followed his gaze over to an item sitting on it. My winglet. There was a confident look in his eyes, probably meaning that he knew something about it, and I sensed a test coming on. "By the way, I left your winglet over there by the window. Quite an unusual design for a winglet, I must say. Different than those used by the empire."

I had a slight pause, debating on whether or not I should tell him the truth, but quickly realized that if he knew the truth, and I lied to him, he'd know I had something to hide. "It was hand-crafted by my grandfather. He was an excellent engineer." He stared at me, and he seemed to be searing my eyes for any hint of a lie. This guy scared me. Not only did he know something about Gramps, but probably me as well. I needed to stay as far away from him as possible.

"Ah, I see. Your grandfather… very impressive. And how is he doing?" He asked, seeming to be asking more for himself than for politeness.

"He died, two years ago…" I looked down, the memories coming back. The fire, that girl, and Giacomo… Rage boiled up inside me. Giacomo.

"Is that so? I'm… sorry to hear that." There was no longer a doubt in my mind he knew Gramps, with his tone of voice sounding more sad than apologetic. I had to leave before he could ask me any more questions.

"Well, thanks for the help, Doc. I owe you one."

Larikush turned to me, and gave a slight smile. "Actually, I'm not the one you should be thanking. Meemai is the one who found you lying in the woods, and carried you here."

"I see, Meemai, is it?" I asked. The doctor nodded, and waved his goodbye, as I strapped on my winglet, and walked out the door.

As I waked into the main part of the town, a boy called out to me. "Hey, you're the one Meemai saved, right?" I walked over to him, wondering why he would need to speak to me. "Glad to see you're up and walking around." At this, the little Greythorne squeaked happily.

"Whoa! Is this him… her? Meemai? Is this who brought me here?" I asked, taken aback. I was also relieved, as even if Meemai had seen me talking to Melodia, there was no way it could tell anyone.

"Uh-huh! Meemai's really cool. He's way smarter than the drunks you see around here, and helpful too!"

"I see… well, thanks, Meemai. I owe you one." I said. 'Though how you would collect is beyond me!' I laughed to myself. The little Greythorne only squeaked happily.

Deciding to go visit the village headman, I walked into the house farthest from the village gate and spoke to him. There was a slightly relieved tone in his voce as he addressed me.

"Oh, you're finally awake." He said, and I carefully thought about my response. It seemed best to go with apologetic - no one would blame you for being sorry.

"Yes sir. I guess I've caused you some trouble. I let my guard down and…well, sorry about all this." I said, trying to sound believable. It was hard to stay on a story that you knew was an outright lie.

The man smiled, and I was surprised. Even though I was a complete stranger, he truly seemed to care about me. "Don't worry about what's already happened, young fella. Feel free to stay in the village and heal your wounds for as long as you need." His face then turned dark. "However, I must insist that you never go near Moonguile forest again… I've heard rumors of meddlers from Pherkad snooping around that forest without permission…"

AEthera gave what would have been a smile, had he a face to do so with. "_Yeah, real bright. We're going to be the best of friends, you old man… NOT. You can't order us around."_ I resisted blurting out his answer, but just settled for a scowl.

"…" I didn't really know what to say. I couldn't risk offending him too much, and drawing attention to myself. I was supposed to follow that girl, and that was it.

The man showed almost a look of disgust on his face as he continued. "Hmph. Neither you nor those blockheads understand that Moonguile forest must not be disturbed! An ancient, hideous monster slumbers deep within that forest. These days, even the forest animals seem uneasy. Now is not the time to meddle in places you don't belong. " I decided to leave, before I ended up unable to control my temper.

A s I headed towards the exit, I saw a familiar face and went to investigate. In front of me was a girl wearing a very… bright… pinkish color. Was this really her? Was she the one with the pendant?

"Hello. Are you a traveler too?" I nodded my confirmation to her. "I came to see the ancient ruins in the woods near here. How about you?"

"Me? Well, I…" 'came here to follow you.' It's not like I could ever tell her that, though. I just trailed off, and counted my blessings when two men wearing different colored versions of the same set of clothes came up and began to talk with her.

"I have to go…" the girl said, and I sighed in relief. "Bye, little guy. See ya, Meemai." And then the three of them left. After they were out of earshot, I heard the little boy's protests from behind me.

"I have a name, ya know. C – E – D – R. Cedr! …They're crazy, huh, Meemai? Why bother going all the way down there to see some stupid old ruins? Nobody in this village will even go near those woods. They say it's cursed, or somethin'. I hope they don't get jumped by wild animals out there, like someone else did…"

I had to stop myself from punching the boy right there.

"Yeah, really." 'Like that could ever happen. Rock Cats don't attack people.' "Ancient ruins in Moonguile Forest, eh? Why don't we go have a look ourselves?" 'After all, AEthera, I have a pendant to follow.' I responded. As I walked towards the gate, I decided to add another comment.

"All righty. Let's go have a look at Moonguile Forest, shall we?" I asked my spirit, and AEthera made no attempt to discourage me, thought he did seem a little confused. "I'd like to get a look at those ancient ruins." I lied to him, and he seemed to believe it. It appeared that Melodia's magic really worked… not like I thought it wouldn't, or anything…

"_Yeah, but…" _AEthera began, and I knew where he was going. "The villagers seem to have a fear of the woods, but I think they're making a big deal over nothing. Mere superstition, I tell you." I reasoned. If he kept fighting, the plan might not work. I had to go after that girl fast, or I'd risk losing her forever.

"_But Kalas, if you lost to a few Rock Cats, then…" _I was really starting to hate that story. It made me look weak, and I don't like to look weak. Besides, I needed to go to the spring, and take the first End Magnus. Hopefully that girl would unseal it, intentionally or on accident, for me with that pendant. It would save me the effort of stealing it and trying to figure out how to work it.

"Hey, relax! You won't catch me off guard this time." I assured him, and with that, we headed into the forest.

I cut down yet another Shawra, finally getting annoyed with the things. "Damn it! Why does the forest have to be infested with these things!"

My guardian spirit decided to answer me. "Just be grateful it isn't swarming with more powerful creatures. You can easily kill these, at least." I hate it when he makes sense. I can't come up with good arguments against things that do.

Damn him and his logic.

A huge roar echoed throughout the forest. "…?! What was that?!" I said, shocked. Even AEthera didn't have the answers this time.

I ran up to a clearing, just in time to see a Sabre Dragon hit the two men from before; their bodies landed some distance away with sickening thuds… they were quite clearly dead. "Gram! Leon!" The girl cried, not noticing the beast coming in for a fatal blow. As it was about to strike, I leapt down, slashing its mouth and sending it sliding backwards. "…?! It's you!" The girl gasped.

"Yes, it's me. Who else would bother saving you?" I wanted to say, but I needed to be on good terms with this girl. Even if I were to just take the pendant from her, I wouldn't know how to use it. But Melodia told me she does. Apparently, she even knows what the End Magnus are; otherwise she wouldn't be going to the spring. That certainly saves me the trouble of convincing her to go there without revealing my plan.

The Sabre Dragon shook off its confusion from my surprise attack, and began to attack again. "Here it comes!"


	2. Deception in Moonguile Forest

Well, after far too long a time, It is finally finished being edited. I give you... my second chapter.

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I pulled out a shield magnus, the buckler appearing just in time as the Sabre Dragon's foot came down on me. The blow was too strong, though, and the shield slipped out of my hands. Rolling out of the way of the next blow, I managed to block the last with the broad side of my sword. "Aqua Burst!" came a cry, and the creature was knocked off me by a ball of water.

"Okay, so she can use magic. That helps out a lot. I had thought I'd have to do this alone," I said to myself. But my 'quick-witted' guardian spirit just had to speak up.

"_You have enough time to talk to yourself, but not to defend the girl?"_ I believe I've said this before. Damn him and his logic. After all, I had been too busy talking to myself to see the girl get sent flying backwards by a fireball. I ran up and blocked a stomp from the beast, as the girl rolled in the grass to smother the flames. The creature decided to lift its foot, and I gratefully jumped away from the thing, wings flapping. I took to the sky, in hopes that it couldn't hit me in the air.

I soon realized flying wasn't the best idea as it began to rain fireballs. Somehow, I had forgotten the attack that had just hit the girl. If I couldn't go high, I'd just go low, I assumed. Running under the thing's legs, I slashed its unprotected underbelly, sending the dragon into a fit of rage as it desperately tried to flatten me like a pancake. As the dragon realized that it could squash me by merely laying down, I ran out from underneath it as fast as I could.

Way to close for comfort, I can say that.

"Fire Burst! Light Flare!" The first attack was used to create a small fire in-between me and the dragon, so hitting me with its extending foot would hurt the monster too. Her next spell was a direct strike at the dragon's face.

Why is she doing better than I am?! Now it looks like _I_ was the one who needed to be rescued! How humiliating.

I continued to strike at the creature, varying my attacks so I wasn't exposed on the ground or in the air for too long. I soon noticed the girl storing up energy, probably trying to use a more powerful attack. I increased my attack speed to draw it's attention. Finishing moves, once created and if used effectively were just that, finishing moves. I hoped that this girl had enough potential to have created something good.

If the Sabre Dragon was hit the battle would be over, I assumed. I could see it panting, and my slashes had done quite a lot of damage. Sure, the girl's magic helped too, but I was the one who had dealt most of the damage.

"Magic – Dance of Light!" she shouted, and in an annoyingly impressive show of power, what appeared to be a harmless stream of sparkling dust killed it. Hmph. What a ridiculous attack. Still, it was powerful, and I needed power. I should make something like that.

But not as girly, like her pathetic shower of confetti.

"_Hey, Kalas. Nice job, rescuing that girl. I didn't expect something so selfless from you." _AEthera said. That ticks me off. My spirit has a habit of insulting me in his compliments… I wonder if all guardian spirits are like that. I'm really starting to regret getting one. I don't see why Melodia thought one was necessary for me to get all the End Magnus.

Wait, if AEthera thought I was doing it to help her, (which I was, but only because I needed to use the girl) then she would too! Quickly, I need to make up a story!

"Not bad. These fangs fetch a handsome price these days." I said, trying to sound nonchalant. Damnit! No they didn't! Anyone who had been around this area for any amount of time would know that. Melodia had said she was from Mintaka, however, so I could only hope that she hadn't been around here long enough to realize the dishonesty in my words.

"Gram…Leon…" She said to herself, standing over the bodies of the two men who had been with her. I don't think she heard me, but it was best to stick with that story in case she did.

I walked over to her, and thought about how to act. If I pretended to be insensitive, it would suit my other comment well, and I could build up a semi-false persona around that. Besides, AEthera's always telling me that I am, so I suppose it wouldn't be too far off from how I normally act, giving me less room for mistakes.

"My oh my, what do we have here. A load of fresh magnus. These could come in handy." I said, kneeling down next to her two deceased friends. Now to see her reaction…

"H..Hey! You're… stealing their things?!" She half-shouted in disbelief. I wasn't really stealing them. Just making it look like I was. I had no need for such weak magnus – small wonder they had died, really. "They're my friends, you know!"

"They were your friends." I stated. "They won't be doing them much good now. We gotta do what we can to survive, right? After all, I don't hear them complaining. Besides, I'm not stripping them bare. I'll only take what I need." I almost shuddered in disgust at how bad the decks were.

'Don't worry. I don't need anything of this quality. Man, how pathetic. I'm almost surprised they even got this far.' I thought, feeling bad not for making the girl think I was stealing her friends' stuff, but because there wasn't even worth stealing.

"Catch!" I threw her the only two things of value they had. Maybe she'd have a need for them – they were her friends, after all, and I certainly didn't have a use for such trinkets.

"You… Gram's pendant… Leon's bracelet… You want me to give these items to their families. To help them remember, is that it?" She asked.

'It's certainly a better use than I would have for them.' I thought, but pretended not to notice.

"You know I… Maybe I…" Xelha started. She sounded like she wanted to ask me out, or something. I couldn't have that – getting attached to someone I was supposed to be using. I had to think of a way to…

I stopped in the middle of my thoughts, as the perfect remark came to mind. Smiling inwardly at the insensitive comment that sprung up in my head, I couldn't help but wonder where I got such borderline evil thoughts from. "That's your share of the loot. Enough to shut you up, I hope."

"…What?!" she shouted, and I couldn't help but smile. Perfect. That would stop any troublesome questions. "How could you be so…" I felt her grasping for a word, but it seemed she lacked the vocabulary to describe her opinion of me. "I won't accept goods stolen from my friends! How insulting to the dead!!"

I didn't quite know what to say, so I started to walk off, but my feet stopped when she spoke up again. "Hey! Wait... don't go!" I turned around, just in time to see one of the largest blushes I had ever seen. Crap. "I… uh… thank you for saving me." She nearly whispered. Very quiet for thanking someone, but I assumed that it was because of her current 'condition', (which I call "blushing red as a strawberry"). "My name is Xelha. I'm glad you came along when you did." The g… I mean, Xelha said.

"I didn't fight that thing to save you, Xelha." I lied. It was kind of hard to say, because she looked kinda cute like that. Damn… did I just think that? No way. Had to have been AEthera, messing with my mind again. Hmph. I'm just lucky that one of the few powers he doesn't have is the ability to read my mind. "A Sabre Dragon's fangs will fetch me a juicy sum. End of story." I lied again. Yeah right - a picture of a Shawra at would do better, no matter how unclear it was. Sabre Dragon fangs had no conventional uses, but some obscure maniac who'd want things like a Thunderfish's head might like them.

Starting to walk off the way I had came, but her voice froze me in my tracks. "Um… you're from Mira… the city of illusion, aren't you?" Xelha asked, and a chill went down my spine. Had she been there? Did she see me with Melodia?

"How could you tell?" I asked, never having felt as nervous as I did right then. It took all I had to try and keep it in while waiting for her response. Depending on the answer, I might have to kill her – not something I was really looking forward to.

"Because you have a Guardian Spirit with you. I knew as soon as I saw you. It's said that only the people of Mira can summon guardian spirits to this world…" But how? Nobody could tell that just by looking at me! I usually had to explain it to them, after they caught me talking to a spot in midair.

"You seem to know a lot about guardian spirits." I commented, still confused as to how this girl, who seemed the same as any other, would be able to see my contact with AEthera.

Hmm… speaking of the nuisance, he'd been awfully quiet lately. I wondered what he was thinking about.

"In ancient times, at the threshold between this world and another…" she started, and I ceased my absent thinking to pay attention. I might learn some useful things about AEthera from this girl. "Souls from both worlds would meet, their fates entwined… the visiting soul would become a guardian spirit. Yet very few were able to hear a spirits voice… and those bonded with a guardian spirit would receive great knowledge and power…" She explained.

'Great knowledge and power, huh?' If there were any truth to that, I could see why Melodia thought a guardian spirit would help…

"But I'm surprised. I thought that was just a legend. Some old tale passed around in fireside chats." I wasn't sure I had ever seen a 'fireside chat'. Maybe it was something they did in Alfard.

"There's no way of telling if someone really has a guardian." I commented. "I wouldn't blame anyone if they thought we were just hallucinating, or something." Sighing to myself, I couldn't help but remember when I thought that that was more likely to be the case. "Right, AEthera?" I asked. The spirit radiated what would be an impudent grin.

"_What are you talking about? I'm right here! How could I be a hallucination?!"_ he said, and I sighed. 'That's not what I meant, you know…' I thought.

"Huh? Was that voice… your guardian?" Xelha asked, and I could hear AEthera gasp in surprise. "Amazing… I suspected there was something different about this girl, but I wouldn't have dreamed that she could hear a spirit that wasn't bonded with her." he said.

"I thought I heard a faint voice… in my mind." she stated, and now I was in about as much disbelief as he was.

"You mean, you heard AEthera's voice?" Xelha nodded.

"I did. Just barely, though…" She paused, finding the spot where AEthera viewed everything from and stared at it.

"So, your name's AEthera. I'm Xelha. Nice to meet you, AEthera." She said. I could hear his reply.

"_Nice to meet you too, Xelha… Wow, this is weird, talking to someone who isn't Kalas."_

The girl gigged oddly, and I stared at her, confused. "Your voice tickles me… it feels strange." I could tell AEthera was going to start talking continuously because of that comment, so I decided to say something before he could.

"Hey, AEthera, ever since I woke up at that village, you've been acting kinda funny." Here it was. I could finally see if Melodia's magic worked or not. "That reminds me. Doc Larikush was worried about amnesia, like I'd hit my head, or something. Don't tell me you've lost your memory, and forgotten everything that happened before that! Its that it?" I asked, and waited for an answer.

'Actually, please do tell me that. It's what Melodia was trying to do, after all,' I thought. If it worked, I vowed to no longer doubt Melodia's plans.

"_I…" _He began, trailing off only because he could tell I wanted to know. _"…can't remember a thing!"_ he laughed.

"What… no way! You're got to be kidding me! What's going on here?!" I said, silently praising Melodia's magic skills. Although they seemed dubious at first, she really pulled through.

A roar echoed throughout the forest, and the two of us prepared for an attack. We didn't see any more monsters, and I lowered my weapon. "Let's talk about this later. This doesn't look like a nice place to chat. I figure you'll remember soon enough." I secretly hoped he wouldn't, but I couldn't tell him that – not if I wanted him to trust me, at least.

Xelha turned towards us. "Hey, Kalas, AEthera… I have to go to the ancient ruins deep in the forest. What about you two?" I saw where this was going, and thought quickly.

"We're headed that way too. Want to go together?" I asked. If she accepted, I could join up with her to get this island's End Magnus, then take it, the pendant, and continue on my own. If not, I could just follow her, and take them both after she got the Magnus for me.

Either way, I win.

"If you don't mind. But before we leave, could you spare me a minute?" She walked over to the two dead men and bowed her head. "Thought it pains me to leave you here… my mission cannot wait… Gram… Leon… thank you… for everything."

She made a weird movement with one hand, and began a prayer. "Cast light upon the darkened earth… Save those lost in despair… O mighty ocean, guide us as we journey through… the darkest pit of night." The two men disappeared in a glow of rainbowy light, and I wondered if all magic had to look that girly, or if it was just what she knew.

I then stopped and thought about the offensive magic she had used during the battle. That wasn't so feminine and sparkly, so I assumed it was just her. I wondered if Melodia's was like that as well. The only time I would have seen it, the spell knocked me unconscious.

"What were you…" I asked, wondering about her weird burial ritual, but I never got to finish the sentence.

"Kalas, AEthera, we should get going." She said, interrupting me.

How rude.

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'More… Shawra?!' I thought, cutting one down in two hits. It didn't seem fair –Xelha's magic worked better against them that my sword. There was an Unuk thrown in there every now and then, but still too many Shawra for my tastes. I couldn't wait to get off this island and away from the freaks.

I could see the ruins in the forest, meaning we had to be getting close to the place where the End Magnus was sealed. I believe Melodia said something about water, and I hadn't seen any so far, meaning we were probably on the right track.

Arriving at a small lake, I sighed. "Is this the place?" A strange beam shot out of the pendant Xelha was wearing and she let out a gasp as the water began to overflow. For some reason, the stars could be seen in it, even though it was daytime.

"What is it?" I asked. A geyser of water shot out of the pond, and a Sea Serpent appeared from within it. I had only one thought.

'How the hell did that huge thing get in a pond?'


	3. Beginning of the End

Here it is, chapter three. I lost a lost, and recoveredd little, so I basically had to rewrite this chapter...

Anyway, It's been too long since I worked on it, whether or not all of my stories are offically on hold. I'll probably continue to write for a while, and hopefully should have the next chapter up soon. I feel kinda guilty about not writing in so long.

To Fan Fan Girl, sorry I didn't send this to you for beta reading first, but it was just kinda eating away at me about my lack of updates within reasonable timeframes. Please still help me with this though, okay?

To everyone again, here is the next chapter. I hope you didn't miss it too much.

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"You come at last, woe laden child, to the depths of Malpercio's realm." The giant thing said.

"Prepare yourself!"

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I could already tell this wasn't going to be an easy battle. At least, for me, it wouldn't be. It was deep enough in the water that I couldn't attack it from the ground, and if I flew close enough, it could lash out at me with it's head.

My best bet would be to keep my distance and draw it's attention, while the girl… Xelha, I reminded myself, fired spells. If I could just get it on land… I could use it - the move I'd been planning.

The creature smashed it's head in the spot where I just was, having barely seen the attack, and taken to the air. Water shot up from the force of the impact, splashing my ankles, even while at this height. I needed to be more careful…

"Fire Burst!" She shouted. The serpent recoiled from the searing heat of the spell, it's tail lashing about angrily. In an instant, the creature recovered, the thin tail snapping forward at an incredible speed, and wrapping around Xelha's leg.

I flew up, slashing at the scaly tail, only to be met by the creature's head. As I crashed into the ground, I felt a jolt of pain rip through my back. If there hadn't been a good two feet of water on the ground, I probably would have my back broken, at the very least.

Damn, this wasn't good… we had done minimal damage to the beast, and it looked like I was already out of commission. Looking upward at where Xelha was, I could see that she had two magnus available. As the creature's tail began to slide underwater, dragging her along with in, she turned and smiled at me.

I felt a healing energy sweep through my immobile body, and realized what had happened. The second magnus… it was an attack magnus that might've been able to break the creature's hold on her.

Instead, she had used her last magnus to heal me. Talk about guilt…

"Xelha!" I cried without thinking, and leaped into the deeper part of the water, where I had last seen her before he sank. _"Playing the hero, are we Kalas?" _AEthera asked, his sarcastic voice seeping into my head as I tried to get to her before she ran out of air.

My one wing flapped, trying to speed me along, as I swam down to the figure deep below me. I needed a long range attack!

Seeing a magnus floating in the water, I grabbed it, not even pausing to look at what it was. It could only be Xelha's other magnus, meaning I had to get it to her… if I could get there in time at all.

As I got closer, her face became visible. I nearly breathed a sigh of relief - she was still alive, judging by how she looked like she was holding her breath. Quickly slipping the magnus into her hand, I pulled out a shield, seeing the approaching face of the monster.

Two seconds later, I would be glad that I did, as it propelled itself into the shield with a force that bent it to a point where I knew that it was completely unusable. That probably would have broken a few ribs, if not completely crushed them on impact.

I struck, trying to deal whatever damage I could wile it was still recovering from the attack. It didn't matter that it was a huge sea serpent, nothing rams it's head almost all the way through a shield and doesn't get a headache.

It began to swing it head towards me, trying to crush it's attacker. Just before impact with my head, it stopped, letting out a horrible roar. I saw Xelha began to swim upwards out of the corner of my eye. Good… she was okay.

I decided to follow her example, and escape to the surface while I still had breath. It wasn't so easy for me, however. One wing can only help so much, and my winglet was fried the second I touched the water.

"_Good job, Kalas. Now, look behind you and… MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!"_ My head snapped back. It wasn't often he yelled, so I took it very seriously. I nearly froze, but saw that would mean certain death, and snapped out of it.

The thing's head was shooting at me fast than the time that it had nearly obliterated my shield. Blocking would be pointless. My one wing gave a flap, helping to turn me out of the way, and I could hear a sickening crunch, even though I couldn't feel any pain.

Swimming the rest of the distance to the surface, I quickly realized what happened, as I fell to the ground, panting and clutching at my chest.

Xelha ran over, shouting something, but I couldn't tell what. My vision was becoming blurry, and I could hear someone screaming. I think it was me. In one second, Xelha saw it, and I could just barely make out the look of horror on her face.

My wing was broken.

* * *

I faded in and out of consciousness for what seemed like hours.

Xelha… she was trying her hardest… but that thing, nobody could take it on alone.

I have to - I have to help her!

------------------------------

My mind became clearer, and the battle opened up in front of my eyes.

Xelha, looking completely battered, stood in-between me and the snake monster. I could tell that her continuous healing herself was the only thing keeping her standing.

The serpent brought it's head down on us, and she blocked it so that it couldn't fall on me.

…She was doing this to help me?

I pulled myself up, feeling Aethera's power well up inside me, keeping me strong. I hoped I could do this…

It was an idea that had come to mind after the battle with the Saber Dragon. A buildup and release of power combined with elemental energy.

The attribute I could access the easiest was wind. If I were in a better state, I'd try fire, but I was in no condition to push my limits. The 'Flash Explosion' would have to wait.

"Mighty Sword…" I softly whispered, gathering all that remained of my power for this last attack, ignoring how it drew out the pain in my chest.

"…blow forth, as a gust of wind!" At this, Xelha turned towards me, hearing my voice. It was good to know she wasn't in as bad shape as I was, despite looking worse off.

I could see her lips moving, and I could barely hear her voice through my concentration. She was warning me, trying to stop me from using up too much energy. But it was too late. The energy had been spent, the attack already formed. I had very little left to do.

"Sword Style: Blue Storm!"

I jumped at the lake monster, my body running entirely off AEthera's power. If I had use of my wings, I'd have swooped down at it head on, it would have made a better chance of the thing taking the full force of my attack. But you make due with what you have - and I only had my legs to rely on at the moment.

The second the blade touched the ground, I let go of the energy, pulling it in a spiral like the Skystorms that appeared every so often. The creature didn't seem to take too much damage, but it's head shot up into the sky, before crashing back down to earth and remaining still.

I had done it. We had won.

"The time has come. The gate to Ar is opening. Behold, the blessing of Malpercio." The thing said, using the last of it's breath. I got up and approached it, slightly wondering why I was able to move, when a shining magnus came out of the water and hovered at about eye level in front of me.

It kinda hurt my eyes, it was so bright. But I could take it. This was clearly one of the end magnus, one of the things that would bring me that which I desired most. In my position, I did the only thing to do. I took hold of it, and immersed myself in it's power.

* * *

I let out a gasp, as visions flooded my eyes. I could see it, me, and my wings! I was there, I could also see Xelha, and a few others… I was happy, I was so happy. Even from the other side of my vision, I could tell…

…Melodia? Ah, so that's where she was. I was wondering why she wouldn't have been with me at such a great moment.

But, Xelha, and those others… They weren't happy for me? That seems mean, maybe even downright cruel. I wanted it to come to pass, but not like this. I want her to be happy for me when I ascend to my birthright, the wings I truly deserve.

Xelha… why aren't you happy for me?

----------------------------------------------------------------

"The Gate to Ar has been opened. Stars, be prepared…"

"…For the song of destruction."

---------------------------------------------------------------

"Stop it!!" I heard Xelha's voice, snapping me out of my trace, and the vision fades away. Why? Why now, of all times?!

I noticed the golden birds coming out of the ground, and the ground beneath us shaking. Something about this was wrong, _very_ wrong. Dropping the end magnus in surprise, everything settled down and I realized my strength had returned… though the aching in my chest had done little to ease it's grip on my body.

The power of merely touching one end magnus could do something such as that? The vision of that day seems closer and closer ever still, especially after just witnessing it.

"Who…or what are you? Malpercio is the name of a cursed evil god from ancient times!" Xelha said accusingly. I flinched - where did she suddenly learn about this from?

"How was I supposed to know?! And how do you know all this?" I asked. I really wanted to know how – if what Melodia told me was correct – a mere maid knew so much about ancient legends.

I was interrupted by a shaking of the earth as a giant ship flew overhead.

Giacomo.

He was here, and standing in front of me.

"Girl… you will return what you have stolen." Soldiers had somehow surrounded us when we were busy staring up at the ship in shock. Or in my case, staring at Giacomo in anger.

It was him. And he was after the pendant.

This was NOT according to plan.

A soldier grabbed Xelha, and I tried to help her, but another hit me in the back of the head with his gun. Between the pain of that and my broken wing, I lost my will to stay awake, and drifted into unconsciousness, the last thing in my mind being the laughter of the man who had murdered Gramps and Fee.

That was going to give me one heck of a nightmare…

* * *

Okay. So the first end magnus is over, but the Sadaal Suud trip still continues. Why Kalas has a broken wing? - Becuase to me it just worked there, and because it explains some things later on. (You'll see next chapter)

Expect his heart to recover sometime in Diadem.


End file.
